New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

942  Crash Course In Spell Levels

"It's hardly the appropriate time for that," Alex complained.

"It isn't, but you won't understand jack shit of what I'm explaining if you don't understand at least the basis of magic levels. So we are doing this," David replied, smirking.

He waited to hear Alex's whiny response, but there came none, so he nodded.

"Alright. First things first. The first-circle level," he said, sliding the charts aside to write directly on the table with his finger.

"As you would think, first-level spells or abilities are the ones that cost the least amount of mana, but usually give out the least amount of power in exchange. Spells like the four basic elemental spells, and the first psychic abilities fit in that category," he said, writing that down.

Already, Alex was confused.

"I have some of those basic spells, and they require a lot of mana, and give out enough power, though…"

David clicked his tongue in disappointment.

"That is why you shouldn't interrupt people when they are explaining something," David said, waving his finger at him.

"First-circle spells are the basis. But they are not locked in place. A good magic user can bump them into second, and sometimes even third-circle spells if he has a good grasp of them. Take, for example, our game system—the Mastery points.

"With enough ingenuity, and a good grasp of the basics, we can master some of the weakest spells or skills, and boost their power tenfold, and sometimes more. At that point, they can become second or third-circle spells.

"But that is only the tip of the iceberg," David said, writing all of this down.

"David, I don't think I need to learn this," Alex grumbled.

"Shut up. Class is in session!" David snapped.

He went on to explain all the levels of power, giving examples along the way, like how Kary's avatar of flames was a fifth-circle spell at its first tier but how it reached sixth-circle when she went into her regalia or blue fire form.

Alex was already getting tired of listening to all this theory, and David didn't seem ready to end just yet.

After explaining all the circles, all the way to eighth-circle spells, he finally grinned.

"This brings us to the last level, and the one I suspect the spell Zagan cast to be a part of, the ninth-circle spell level."

"Urgh… Finally…" Alex complained.

"Hey, this knowledge is essential in the long run. Being able to distinguish the level of a spell also means it is much easier to counter it or completely overpower it. The higher the spell circle cast, the more power it carries.

"Sometimes, countering with a lower-level spell of a counter element is a good way to save mana. Other times, you just need to overpower it, regardless of the element, with a more powerful spell. This is magic duel 101."

Alex had fought other mages before, and he always found that closing the gap and slicing into them with his weapon was the more straightforward strategy. But that was probably because he wasn't as much of a mage as he claimed to be.

"The ninth-circle spells are in a different realm altogether," David resumed his explanation, interrupting Alex's train of thought.

"Even though eight-circle spells already require millions of mana points to cast, or an exorbitant amount of Aether, in most cases, they pale in comparison to ninth-circle spells. Those spells are almost always domain spells, and you wouldn't see a mortal casting one, at least alone," David said, pulling back his first chart and drawing the last line.

That line was so steep, covering multiple exponents of ten, until it reached the billions of mana points.

"Even gods have to channel those for a while, unless it was prepared in advance with a medium, like Zagan did. Infusing the medium with mana over a long period can drastically reduce the casting time, but is a double-edged sword."

"Wait, why is it a double-edged sword?" Alex interrupted him again.

David sighed, but explained anyway.

"Because infusing the mana in advance into a medium means locking the spell's shape and function ahead of time. Runes will form, and eventually, the spell can't be altered. Once that point is reached, any deviation to the spell, whatever it is, will cause it to have side effects," David explained.

"What kind of side effects?"

That's when David grinned.

"I'm hoping bad ones."

His grin was almost sadistic, and Alex felt a shiver run down his spine.

Pulling up a second chart, David drew a line that didn't quite reach the ninth circle.

"In this case, he had to cast the spell earlier. So, I'm guessing he wasn't quite fully charged yet. This means his spell didn't have the kick it needed to send him back whole, like I'm sure he wanted originally," David said, smiling.

"But there are also a few twists," he added, shifting the chart up, so he could write under it.

"I think his spell originally intended for him to be sent, along with all the other demons, so they could return to their time and rule as they were intended to. But a few things changed here, and his spell would have been affected."

Alex frowned.

"What changed?"

David grinned at him, pointing at him.

"You. You changed his spell for him."

"Huh?" Alex asked, confused.

"You changed his spell, even though it was unwittingly. By linking the demon kings to your soul, you took away some of the recipients of his soul. Since they were attached to you, and you weren't part of the spell, he wasn't able to bring them along.

"Now, that would usually only reduce the amount of mana required for the spell to function, given it is reducing the burden that time has to bear. But the spell was shaped to bring them all back, at least I imagine.

"Pulling some of the most powerful figures out of the spell would have erased some of the runes from it, changing the nature of it entirely."

Alex was still confused by his enthusiasm.

"I still don't understand why you look so happy about this… I sent back through time a demon that most likely became the Demon Lord. How can any of this be good?"

"Because you changed the nature of his spell. It didn't send them through time. It sent only one person. Whoever ended up the leading mind was left changed entirely. Coming back from a change like that takes time. Time that would play against them in the long run.

"Whatever landed through time, wasn't the Demon Lord we were faced with in my last life. He has to be weaker. I'm sure of it."